DIY Sled Ornament

Before I was born my grandmother made all her "grandkids" a sled ornament out of popsicle sticks. My mom gave it to me a while back and it has been displayed on my tree every year since. This year I wanted to create the same thing to include as part of our Christmas gifts to our parents. I went online to see if I could purchase pre-made sled ornaments and while I was scouring, the hubby plucked it off the tree and stated "Diane this is popsicle sticks. You can make this!" Well duh! Why didn't I think of that?!? I blame pregnancy brain! So that's what I did! And I am here to share with you how I did it! It's super easy, just in case I didn't mention that yet!

What You'll Need:
(7) Plain Popsicle Sticks (you can get them at any craft store)
Xacto knife
Paint and brushes
Super Glue
Modge Podge

Directions:

1. Before I painted the sticks, I made my cuts. I suggest using a brand new blade on your Xacto knife. Our was dull and VERY hard to work with! Please be careful with your blade, its very sharp!! First I took four popsicle sticks and drew an arch on them and cut out the arch. Here are the sizes you will need:

Leave the 2 middle arched sticks as is; just cut with a arch
The 2 outside arch sticks will be 3.25"W to the longest point with a 45 degree angle
(1) 3"W with 45 degree angles on each end
(1) 1.5W for back
(2) Full size popsicle sticks

2. Paint your popsicle sticks in your desired color. I chose red....obviously.  I wanted it to look like the other one as closely as possible. I painted two coats on all sides and let dry overnight.

3. Arrange your four arched pieces appropriately. Take your super glue and glue onto the entire length of the short piece and place onto the back of your piece. Press and hold for 30 seconds or until the glue has cured. Repeat with the other short piece.

4. Put superglue on the top of your two middle pieces on the opposite side as the short pieces and then place your angled piece on the top. Flip over and press for 30 seconds until glue has cured.

5. Take a small portion of glue on the very edges of the small back pieces and place one of your full length sticks perpendicular and centered evenly. The stick should be flush (or as flush as possible) with the edge of the piece. Repeat with other full length stick.

6. I didn't take photo's of the next steps, but you can see in the finished photo above what it looks like. Next I took my paint pen and wrote "Baby Kimball 2013" on the top. That took two light coats to make it nice and even.

7. Once everything is completely dry I put one coat of modge podge as a sealer. I used the glitter kind on accident. I would recommend just the clear matte or gloss. The hubs didn't care for the glitter, but I think it work for the application.

8. You can add a hangar if you like. We just rest our on a branch so no hangar is needed for us!

See! You too can make your own sled ornament out of popsicle sticks!